Across the country, district leaders are working to improve literacy outcomes for all students while ensuring students with disabilities receive the instruction and services they need to succeed. Too often, however, these priorities are treated as separate efforts.
At the center of this challenge is what researchers and educators call the “special education paradox.” Historically and today, Black, Brown, and Indigenous boys are disproportionately identified with intellectual or behavioral disabilities rather than instructional learning needs. Once identified, they are more likely to be segregated from general education, separated from grade-level content and peers, and subjected to harsher discipline, including out-of-school suspensions. In contrast, students who are female, White, or Asian are more likely to be under-identified as students with disabilities.
These patterns are longstanding and persistent. Schools are legally required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to identify students with disabilities early and accurately through “Child Find,” ensuring access to a free and appropriate public education. Yet systems continue to struggle with disproportionality in both identification and services.
At the same time, decades of rigorous research—the science of reading—show that up to 95% of students can learn to read when instruction is evidence-based and delivered through Structured Literacy.
For district leaders, this presents a significant opportunity. If science of reading practices can support nearly all students, they may also help address longstanding inequities in special education. The question, then, is: how can the science of reading improve the identification, instruction, and literacy outcomes of students with disabilities?
Aligning literacy instruction and special education may be one of the most powerful ways to ensure that all truly means all.
Here are four key ways district leaders can align literacy and special education to better support all students:
1. Ensure that Tier 1 literacy instruction is available to every student and aligned with the science of reading
One of the most important shifts district leaders can make is recognizing that special education begins and ends in general education.
Tier 1 literacy instruction should serve every student first, including multilingual learners, students with individualized education programs (IEPs), and typically developing students. Structured Literacy instruction benefits all learners because it explicitly teaches the foundational skills needed for reading success. This is evidence-based, high quality, preventative instruction for all.
When general education classrooms consistently use evidence-based literacy practices, students receive the instruction they need from the start. This reduces the number of students who fall behind and require intensive intervention later. As district, building and classroom leaders know, we cannot “intervene” our way out of a Tier 1 problem. A robust, evidence-based core curriculum—supported by targeted supplements— ensures all students meet instructional challenges with educator support.
For district leaders, this means investing in core curriculum and supplements that align with the science of reading and Structured Literacy. These investments should include diagnostic or digital platforms that reinforce teacher instruction while targeting specific skill gaps.
2. Build stronger collaboration between general and special educators, including related service providers.
Aligning literacy instruction with special education also requires deeper collaboration among educators.
A common misconception is that students receiving special education services require entirely different instruction. In reality, most students benefit from the same evidence-based literacy practices used in general education classrooms. The difference often lies in the duration, frequency, or intensity of instruction targeting specific skills or concepts.
For example, a student may need additional time practicing phoneme–grapheme relationships or more opportunities to apply decoding skills. Special educators can work alongside general educators to analyze student data, identify skill gaps, and design targeted instruction that accelerates progress.
For district leaders, this means investing in professional learning that helps all educators, related service providers and paraprofessionals understand both the what and the how of effective reading instruction. Programs such as Lexia LETRS, which provides deep professional learning in the science of reading and Structured Literacy, are helping educators translate decades of research into classroom practice.
District leaders can further support this work by investing in co-teaching models, shared planning time, and data protocols that encourage collaboration.
3. Prioritize early literacy and language development.
Early literacy instruction is particularly important for students who eventually qualify for special education.
A significant portion of students with IEPs have speech or language-related needs. Because language development is closely tied to reading success, early instruction in phonological awareness, vocabulary, and language comprehension is essential.
District leaders can strengthen early literacy by including early childhood educators in professional learning events that frequently target grades K-3 and are specific to ECE. By grounding early childhood teachers, service providers, and paraprofessionals in the pedagogy of Structured Literacy, districts can ensure students develop the essential pre-literacy skills needed for kindergarten readiness.
Another important step is integrating related service providers such as speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists into literacy planning. In too many schools, the daily classroom schedule unintentionally creates barriers by placing literacy blocks at the same time across grade levels, making collaboration difficult. Rethinking these structures can help specialists support early (indeed all) literacy instruction more effectively.
4. Use data and technology to improve instructional accuracy.
Instructional technology and data systems can also play an important role in strengthening literacy and special education alignment. This happens when technology supports and does not supplant the teacher, and when screen time is targeted, diagnostic and responsive to student instructional needs. Quite simply, screen time needs to be purposeful and tied to data.
When educators have access to diagnostic data tied directly to instruction, they can better understand where students are thriving and struggling and then respond quickly with targeted support. Technology can also help provide the repetition many students need to master foundational reading skills. Remember, the science of reading makes clear that teachers must build the neuronal pathways that make reading increasingly fluent and automatic.
The goal of instructional technology in this case is not to reduce special education referrals, but to help ensure that identification is more accurate because students received appropriate and timely instructional support.
When districts use data effectively, they can address instructional needs early before frustration, disengagement, or behavioral challenges emerge.
Looking ahead
If districts fully embrace the principle that all means all, the impact could be transformative.
Students with disabilities would spend more time learning alongside their peers in general education classrooms. Literacy rates would rise. And more students would graduate with the confidence and skills needed for college, careers, or other pathways.
Most importantly, students who once struggled to find their place in school would have greater opportunities to demonstrate what they are capable of achieving.
The science of reading makes one thing clear: nearly every child has the capacity to become a successful reader when given the right instruction. The work ahead for district leaders is ensuring their systems including curriculum, professional learning, collaboration, and data align to make that opportunity a reality for every student.
About the Author
Kerri Larkin
Kerri Larkin is a senior education advisor on the Education Partnerships Team and host of the All for Literacy podcast at Lexia.